1969-70 NFA Champions Bowl - Miami Stingrays vs Washington Pirates



After winning 15 of their last 16 games and never faltering to put points on the board, the Stingrays finally collapsed. The Pirates would come out ready to play, motivated by the injuries to Vinnie Holiday and Monty Jones, whereas the Stingrays offense was almost non-existent through the first 3 quarters. Washington got us going early when QB Ron Murray scrambled for a large 21 yard gain, which he followed up with a 25 yard touchdown pass to WR Paul Hudson a play later. Miami would get forced to punt on their opening drive since week 8 in what would be one of the most active nights for their punters in franchise history. Washington would score again on their next time out, this time RB Charley Rodgers would slip through for a 5 yard score. Miami would be relegated to punt once again. Unfortunately for them, it would only get worse from here. Washington would return the punt for a score, despite the entire stingrays sideline screaming about WR Gene Harris apparently stepping out of bounds in front of them. The refs wouldn’t call it though and the Pirates would push their lead to 21 points. RB Elijah Boone would try to get things going for the Rays but about 5 minutes into the drive, while pushing to try and get those yards in Pirates territory, would have the ball knocked out of his hands. Washington would immediately fall on it and recover possession of it with 5 minutes left in the half. However, Miami would finally get a stop and keep the Pirates from scoring again, forcing them to punt for the first time today. The offense still wouldn’t be able to convert the last 90 seconds half into anything and would enter halftime scoreless for the first time all season.

The second half would get slightly better for Miami. On the first drive out of the break, Miami managed to get into field goal range before getting stopped. The field goal attempt would sail far right though, meaning the Rays would stay scoreless. This wouldn’t be a fluke drive however. After Washington would retaliate with a 6 and a half minute drive that ended with them pushing their lead to 28, they’d finally put 3 on the board. After a quick drive, highlighted by a 35 yard run by Boone, the kick would soar through the middle of the uprights, making the score 28-3.
As the 4th quarter got underway, Washington took their foot off the gas significantly, leading to Miami to start to make noise on both sides of the ball. First, they finally scored a touchdown when Boone broke through for the first time tonight, rattling off 34 yards before reaching the end zone to cut the lead to 18. On the ensuing kickoff, WR Gene Harris would fumble after a flattening hit was delivered. Miami would manage to fall onto it after it slipped out from underneath a Pirates player, setting them up within the Pirates 20. The Washington defense would step up big time however and force a turnover on downs when Miami was forced to go for it on 4th and 6. This would pretty much quiet any comeback hopes Miami was starting to have. Washington would quickly recover after giving up 10 unanswered points and Murray would connect with Hudson for a Champions Bowl record 3rd time tonight. Miami would try and get back down the field with time dwindling in the game, but QB Joshua George throwing his first pick of the night would seal the deal for the Rays. S Ralph Hazard would get his second interception of the postseason and the Pirates would come away victorious. The final score would be 35-10. The Pirates would go home celebrating their 2nd Championship in 3 years, really erasing any doubts that the franchise can never deliver in the big game, while Miami would go home with their heads in their hands wondering what happened and what could’ve been. 

Paul Hudson would become the first WR, and only the 4th player that isn’t a RB or QB, to win the Champions Bowl MVP. His 3 touchdown, 120 yard performance is one of the greatest performances by a wide receiver in NFA postseason history. 




And here's this years banner!


Congratulations Pirates fans on another ring! C&C appreciated!
 

Congrats to the Pirates and their fans on a dominating win! Probabaly the second most boring Champions Bowl ever (Behind 45-0). Excited for what is in store this offseason!

Champs again, woo!

Wallflower wrote:

Congrats to the Pirates on the win. A very well-played game. Crazy good performance from Hudson.
(also heads up for a spelling error on the banner)

Stickman wrote:

Well.... that prediction couldn't have been more wrong... (err... I mean, yes of course it was right, I just goofed and wrote the wrong winning team down!  You'll believe me right..... right?!)

On a serious note, congrats to the Wasington Pirates (whose misspelt banner I pray never gets changed!  Or at least isn't erased from history after the correctly spelled banner is made!  Seriously, a misspelt championship banner would be worth a ton of money down the road!)

 

Thanks for the heads up on the misspelled banner guys.
I could totally see that happening in real life though. Them finally unveiling it, the typo somehow missing everyone in the production team, only to be spotted by fans during the ceremony. I think they'll just keep it misspelt like Stickman suggested. It's a cute memory that I don't think too many would be upset by.

The Atlanta Bulldogs revealed a new look this offseason. It's been expected for a couple years now. First, the biggest change was the shift from a black and red color scheme to a navy and red color scheme. Next, they revealed a modernized bulldog logo that will serve as the primary. The A logo was also brought along in the update, recolored and placed as the secondary. The new uniforms are also very modern. The helmet and home uniform are both navy, which makes them the second team to adopt a colored uniform at home (Minneapolis was the first). Red pants are paired with both the home and away. On the helmet is the updated primary. The team also adds the secondary logo to the sleeves of both uniforms, moving the numbers to the top of the shoulders, becoming the very first team to do either of those things.



The rest of the offseason will be up soon. Let me know what you think of the new Bulldogs look! 

Also, Happy Holidays! I'm a bit late but I hope everyone had a good holiday season.